Kenya, March 20 : Kirinyaga County Governor Anne Waiguru has defended her administration against backlash from the Citizenry, after a decision to allocate Ksh 4 million to provide breakfast meals for county revenue collectors.

Speaking on Thursday, the county chief who has been under fire, stated that the allocation was necessary to support the officials, who often work long hours under tough conditions.

Ms. Waiguru, clarified that the budget covered a full year, noting that the revenue collectors, earning a modest Ksh15,000 per month, begin their work as early as 4 a.m. to ensure efficient tax collection at markets and trading centers.

“That Ksh4 million they were talking about is the budget for a whole year. These revenue collectors are on the ground from as early as 4 a.m. when lorries offload goods. They help us meet our revenue targets, and I see no issue in providing them with breakfast. I have no apologies to make,” Waiguru stated.

The budgetary allocation had come under scrutiny during a Senate Public Accounts Committee hearing, where Homa Bay Senator Moses Kajwang’ questioned the necessity of maintaining revenue enforcement officers when the county had already digitized tax collection.

Waiguru, however, dismissed the concerns, insisting that despite digitization, physical enforcement remains crucial in ensuring compliance and maximizing revenue.

The debate has sparked mixed reactions, with some residents supporting the move as a fair incentive for hardworking county staff, while others question the county’s spending priorities amid pressing development needs.

This comes in the wake of Auditor General Nancy Gathungu's 2023/2024 audit report, which has revealed massive irregularities and misappropriation of funds by county governments, raising questions whether taxpayers are getting value for their money.

Counties in the Country, continue to splash millions of shillings on stalled projects, salaries, acquisition of items some of which are non-functioning and legal fees among others.

According to the Report, Governor Ahmed Abdullahi's Wajir spent a whooping Sh9,312,053 to repair a generator at the county headquarters.

The Auditor General noted that the county government did not justify the expenditure, which was estimated as enough to purchase a new generator, raising concerns of potential excess and wasteful expenditure.

In Tana River County, the audit revealed irregularity in payment of foreign and subsistence travel allowances. The County Executive report revealed spent Sh6,395,500 on staff allowances while attending Jumuiya Trade Investment and Education Exchange Mission in the US.

The audit revealed that invitation letters to participants, back-to-office reports documenting the outcome of the mission, lessons learned, and value gained from the conference were not provided for audit review. Further, it revealed no justification for holding a local economic block event outside the country while Kenya Coastal Region has plenty of venues to host such events at a reasonable cost. Specialised medical equipment valued at Sh73,376,300 purchased to equip Hola Level Four the report revealed were kept in boxes awaiting construction of the building and therefore not in use.

In Marsabit, the audit questioned the expenditure of Sh3,399,484 on foreign travel, daily subsistence allowances and air tickets for three county officers who travelled on November 29, 2023, to the United Kingdom to receive three donated used Mercedes Benz ambulances.

However, at the time of the audit in September 2024, only one ambulance had been delivered.

A review of Machakos County payroll revealed that 67 clinical officers and 61 medical doctors were on the payroll. However, review of the doctor analysis report generated from the Integrated Health Management system revealed that no activity was undertaken by the clinical officers and doctors from September, 2023 when Level 4 and 5 hospitals were digitised and from February to March, 2024 when all Level 3 and 4 were digitised.

Samburu County spent Sh1.8 million and Sh1,199,996 on mobile phones and laptops totalling to Sh2,999,996. However, a list of beneficiaries for the mobile phones and laptops and evidence of market survey were not provided. This contravened Section 149 (1)(a)(b) of the Public Finance Management Act, 2012.

The report also revealed an irregularity in procurement of mobile phones and laptops by Uasin Gishu County Government. The Department of ICT procured mobile phone model Samsung S23 Ultra and a Macbook laptop computer at Sh430,000 from a local supplier. However, physical verification of the ICT equipment procurement revealed that only the mobile phone was provided for physical inspection.

In Nandi County, the audit questioned the expenditure relating to foreign travel and substance which reflected payments amounting to Sh1,761,410 made to three (3) officers towards the attendance of black caucus in the USA. This was however contrary to Public Service Circular OP/CAB.308/018 by the Chief of Staff and Head of the Public Service on suspension of non-essential travel which disallowed such journeys.

Further, a review of foreign travel and substance expenditure by the county revealed a payment of Sh1,317,316 made to a state officer to facilitate attendance of the 68th session on the status of women in New York City for 14 days. This was contrary to the period of travel of seven days inclusive of travel days stipulated in circulars No. OP/CAB.1/7A of January 26, 2015, by Chief of Staff and Head of Public Service.

In Narok, the county spent Sh313, 587,476 for travel. The amount included Sh4,401,000 spent towards the ear-notching and fitting of transmitters on 20 black rhinos in the Maasai Mara National Reserve.

“The fuel consumed during the exercise was not supported with detailed orders and work tickets. Further, delivery notes, counter issue forms, and counter receipt forms were not provided to confirm the amount of Sh.901, 000 spent on immobilisation drugs, reversal agents, darting accessories,s and medical consumables,” read the report in part.

Busia County spent Sh5.8 million for the acquisition of a refrigerated truck. The vendor sued the County Executive for delayed payment and the county was ordered by the court to pay the principal amount of Sh5,809,460, interest that had accrued over the years amounting to Sh3,601,865, and costs of the suit of Sh341,980, all totaling Sh9,753,305.

“Physical verification in September 2024 revealed that the vehicle was parked at the County Commissioner’s Offices in Busia Town, was not in use and was in a dilapidated condition. Further, the truck bears a private registration number and has not been transferred to the County Executive. In addition, no evidence was provided for audit on whether the truck had ever been used by the County Executive,” read the report.

Nairobi County’s Dishi na County Programme was also questioned over alleged irregular payment to the implementor. The County Executive entered into a contract with Food for Education on December 5, 2023, for the provision of school feeding services as part of the Dishi na County Nairobi School Feeding Programme for one year at a rate of Sh25 per plate.

Meanwhile, Gathungu also flagged stalled projects worth millions of shillings in Siaya County for the financial year 2023/2024. According to the report, an X-Ray machine installed at Got Agulu sub-county hospital was not in use due to the lack of a radiographer to operate it.

The report revealed that the amount of money incurred on the project were a waste of public funds. Also in the report is the delay in the construction of perimeter Wall at Migwena Sports Cultural Centre.

The report revealed that the County Executive entered into a contract with a firm for the proposed construction of a perimeter wall at Migwena at a contract sum of Sh33.8 million.

The report revealed Governor Johnson Sakaja led Nairobi County, owes four advocates a staggering Sh6.3 billion, making up 29 per cent of the county's total outstanding legal fees of Sh21.4 billion.

The pending cases primarily stem from disputes over unpaid claims, irregular contract terminations, and procurement malpractices.

"Further, the pending legal fees amounting to Sh21,371,004,293 represent 11 per cent of the total County Executive's pending bills," noted Gathungu.

In Kajiado, Governor Joseph Ole Lenku's administration is under scrutiny over Sh79 million in legal fees, with the Auditor General demanding further clarification.

"The Executive incurred an avoidable expenditure of Sh1,468,651 in interest decreed by the court due to failure by the Accounting Officer at the Treasury to pay an advocate's legal fee of Sh4,128,359 in a timely manner," said Gathungu.

By November 2024, only half of the amount had been settled, exposing the county to potential financial liabilities.

In Kilifi, Governor Gideon Mung'aro faces Senate scrutiny over questionable financial dealings, including Sh71 million in legal fees and Sh672 million in civil works.

Mombasa Governor Abdulswammad Nassir's administration is grappling with unexplained payments of Sh67 million in legal fees.

The audit revealed that the county's liability continues to increase due to failure to honour court rulings.

"The County failed to settle the balance of Sh8 million with a motor vehicle sales company, which had accrued decretal sums, costs of the suit, and interest totalling Sh68 million," added Gathungu.

Kisumu County also came under fire after the audit flagged Sh46 million in unsupported legal expenses. "A review of the expenditure revealed that payments totalling Sh22,496,355 lacked crucial supporting documents, including lists of pending cases, outstanding fees, procurement records, case proceedings, and court attendance evidence," the Auditor General's report stated.

Additionally, the county engaged legal consultants without the required approval, violating the Office of the County Attorney Act, 2020.

Similarly, in Machakos, Sh38.8 million was paid to four law firms for previous and current year legal fees, yet relevant case files were not provided for audit, leaving Sh20.5 million in legal fees unreconciled.

Uasin Gishu County, despite having an Office of the County Attorney, spent Sh22.2 million on external legal representation, raising concerns over unnecessary spending. The audit showed that out of Sh25.6 million allocated for legal costs, a significant amount went to private advocates instead of in-house legal staff.

In Marsabit, poor legal decisions saw the county spend Sh10 million in legal fees in 2024, even as it defended a case where the plaintiff had sued for just Sh1 million in damages.

The audit revealed that Sh2.8 million in legal fees lacked a breakdown to justify compliance with the Advocates Remuneration Order of 2014.

"There was no evidence of the application of the Advocates Remuneration Order of 2014 for determining legal fees. The fees amount of Sh3.3 million was charged as legal fees for a compensation case, an amount disproportionate to the claimed damages of Sh1,028,000," said Ms. Gathungu.